Markets rose on Tuesday amid signs that US central bankers could cut interest rates in September, but dealers reported that volumes were small in Dublin and other European exchanges.
DUBLIN
The Irish market “trundled along” with little corporate news to excite investors, traders said on Tuesday night.
AIB rose slightly more than 1 per cent to €5.05, while peer Bank of Ireland climbed slightly less than that to close at €9.50. Dealers remarked that volumes were low.
Housebuilder Cairn Homes added 1 per cent to end the day at €1.824.
Among the larger stocks Ryanair closed 0.5 per cent up at €14.985 after topping the €15 mark earlier in the day.
Food and ingredients group Kerry added 0.63 per cent to €87.40 after enduring a period when the stock was under pressure, traders said.
Dealers noted that volumes were well down on average across all European markets on Tuesday.
LONDON
UK stocks ended higher on Tuesday while investors looked to crucial inflation numbers at home and in the US for direction on global interest rates.
Homebuilder Crest Nicholson fell 20.7 per cent to 208.8 pence sterling, leaving it languishing at the bottom of the FTSE 250, after rival Bellway scrapped its £720 million (€900m) bid for the company.
Auto parts-maker Dowlais Group slid 4.4 per cent to 58.7p after saying it was weighing a sale of its GKN Powder Metallurgy unit and cut its annual revenue forecast.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index added about 0.3 per cent each and extended gains to a third consecutive session.
EUROPE
Hellofresh shares rose at their fastest for five years in Frankfurt after the ready-to-eat meal specialist announced plans to cut costs. The stock climbed 23 per cent at one point and was up 19.3 per cent at €6.44 around the close of business.
Hellofresh reported that second-quarter earnings were €146.4 million, beating analysts’ expectations. The company also unveiled plans to cut costs and preserve profits. The Berlin-based company has struggled to keep customers in the face of rising inflation.
Drug developer Evotec climbed 10 per cent to €5.94 after confirming that its partnership with US giant Bristol Myers Squibb would trigger payments of $75 million.
US
Coffee shop chain Starbucks was the top performer on the S&P 500, rising 20.5 per cent, putting it on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain ever, after it appointed Chipotle Mexican Grill’s head Brian Niccol as chairman and chief executive. Conversely Chipotle dropped 9.6 per cent.
The move happened as US stocks hit a near two-week high on Tuesday after the producer price index, a key pointer to inflation, was weaker than expected, prompting investors to step up bets that central bankers at the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next month.
Megacap and growth stocks gained, with Nvidia set to lead the charge for a second session, rising over 5 per cent. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index rose 2.8 per cent, touching a near two-week high. Investors now await all-important consumer price (CPI) figures for July on Wednesday and retail sales data on Thursday to firm bets on an aggressive rate cut by the US central bank.
Paddy Power-owner Flutter Entertainment’s shares were trading at around $189 on New York at 6pm Irish time.
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